Phobiarama

Dries Verhoeven discerns a new theatre of fear in the tactics of terrorists, politicians and some media. Phobiarama, which will have its Dutch premiere at this year's Holland Festival, is his dramatization of their strategies in a 21st century haunted house. A sinister

fairground attraction will be installed on Mercatorplein, where spectators will undergo an oppressive experience.

Verhoeven: 'Our fear receptors, the amygdalae, are located deep within our brain: these two nodules are responsible for processing frightening stimuli. They determine whether we fight or flee when confronted by a threat. The reaction is usually automatic, a reflex. Our amygdalae have been working overtime in recent years. Our continent has never been so safe, but we haven’t been this afraid for a long time. We’re continuously forced to distinguish between real threats and illusory doomsday scenarios. Politicians, marketers and terrorists deftly exploit our alert state of being. They focus very effectively on these fear receptors. That is what Phobiarama is about.

'I'm a great believer in camouflaging art, that is, art works that masquerade as something else. I hope a work will confuse and activate spectators and random passers-by. I'm presenting Phobiarama as a fairground attraction. The work initially sells itself as something attractive. Phobiarama is about the attraction of the shudder. Perhaps that's why we're so keen on watching terrifying news images. We exorcise our fears by looking them in the eye.'